The present invention relates to a transporting apparatus in general, and more particularly to an apparatus for transporting strip-shaped or sheet-shaped materials. Still more particularly, the invention relates to such an apparatus which is usable with particular advantage for transporting photographic emulsion carriers through a treatment bath, for example a bath of developer, a bath of fixative or the like.
Various types of apparatus are known for transporting strip-shaped or sheet-shaped materials, and in particular for transporting photographic emulsion carriers. Because of the particular advantage of using the present invention in the transportation of a photographic emulsion carrier, the invention will be discussed hereafter with respect to such an application, although it should be understood that it is not limited thereto.
In the prior art, photographic emulsion carriers are either transported by rollers, endless belts, drag chains or in basket-like containers, to be treated during such transportation by one of the several treating fluids that are required to come in contact with such emulsion carriers. These prior-art apparatus all are quite complicated in construction, but are nevertheless not capable of preventing with complete reliability any damage to the highly sensitive emulsion side of the material which they transport.